


You Couldn't Sleep Either?

by tocasia



Series: Our Shining Past [42]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU, Cute, Fluff, Gen, Late Nights, Sephiroth and Zack friendship, always looking out for your friends, one mention of teen magazine quizzes, sleepover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 16:39:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14085135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tocasia/pseuds/tocasia
Summary: Too many nights are like this.  It's late.  Sephiroth is doing nothing, thinking about nothing... just drifting between tomorrows.(81. a place to belong, insomnia) for Seph&Zack Friendship 100 Themes





	You Couldn't Sleep Either?

_"A friend is somebody you want to be around when you feel like being by yourself."_ \- Barbara Burrow

* * *

Sephiroth lay in bed not sleeping, staring at the ceiling.

When he stretched, his toes stuck out from under the too-heavy covers.

He wished to ignore ticking clocks and the knocking sound of the ice maker.

Ketchup and soy sauce packets were all that remained in the fridge. He couldn't remember when he'd restocked last.

The bathroom was otherwise clean, but the in-shower towel rack taunted him, encrusted with ancient soap scum, its preserved bubbling foam desiccated, and he decided not to fight that battle yet.

Enough.

Thankful he hadn't tripped over anything, he dressed quickly. It was colder than usual.

* * *

He rapped on the door to Zack's apartment.

"You couldn't sleep either? Okay, come in."

He did, noticing the two day's worth of dishes piled up in the sink. Zack must be tired too, and seemed to appreciate the company.

"If you're hungry, I've got...." Zack flung open a cabinet and critically examined its contents. "...three boxed brownie mixes and a strawberry cake mix. But I forgot to buy eggs, so if you want we could go to Blue Impulse Mart for some. That's always an adventure."

Sephiroth didn't feel like driving, and Zack definitely shouldn't. "I think... I just want to be here for a while."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly."

"Yeah, I get that."

* * *

The tv was already on.

"So, whatcha wanna do? This year's big tournaments are all finished, so the chocobo races being aired are the amateur ones." Zack sounded apologetic, though there was no need. "There's a new season of that show we were watching, but I've heard it's terrible."

"Oh." Sephiroth wasn't ready to admit how much he'd liked it.

* * *

Instead of paying attention to the endless car commercial reruns, Sephiroth half-listened to his friend rummaging around in the other room. 

Then came a pause, as if a startling discovery had been made at the bottom of a drawer, appended by an enigmatic, "Oh, what the hell."

Zack returned with something and held it up uncertainly. "Uh.... There's a quiz. This could be fun?"

It was a magazine, with Rufus on the front, perfectly airbrushed, his portrait plastered over with TOTALLY DREAMY in a saccharine font.

After surviving the initial shock, Sephiroth managed not to express a sigh that might be misinterpreted. Zack was probably as surprised by the magazine's existence as he was. They hadn't found anything better to do. Stranger things had happened. He didn't have to take this seriously. "Perhaps."

Dubiously encouraged, Zack picked a question at random. "If you suddenly became a master at woodworking, what would you make?"

What?

"A clock," Sephiroth said, and wondered why.

"That was a stupid question. Can I try another?"

"Go ahead."

"Hmm...."

Uh oh. Zack looked interested....

"What’s the dumbest thing you’ve done that actually turned out pretty well?"

Heh. Nope! "Listened to you, on many occasions." He smiled to show he didn't quite mean it.

"Hey!" Zack's response was exaggerated; he'd taken the joke in stride, clearly hopeful that the topic would resurface eventually.

Zack handed him the magazine. Sephiroth read, "What chapters would you separate your autobiography into?"

Not a moment's hesitation. "All one epic saga!"

"Yes, it certainly would be." He quirked a more genuine smile.

Zack asked, "What’s the most illegal thing you’ve done?"

Rather a pointless question, wasn't it?

His second-in-command apparently reached the same conclusion. "Oops. We'll skip that one."

"Agreed."

"Next is.... What's one thing you did that you really wish you could go back and undo?"

"If I think of one I will."

"Whoa, Seph, not this thing we just did?"

"We already didn't do this."

"Right."

* * *

Zack yawned. Sephiroth also yawned.

* * *

Reluctantly, Sephiroth accepted the formidable self-imposed challenge to sleep on Zack's couch. At least he had a familiar excuse if he couldn't.

"Zack, this is an awful couch."

"Yessir. It's an unforgettable cult classic. A mighty rock in the swirling river of time."

It was _amazing_ how Zack always replied differently.

* * *

Later, Sephiroth tried to keep the jealousy out of his voice and failed. "You had a _treehouse?_ "

* * *

Zack was playing a puzzle game with really good graphics that was slow to load.

"You sure do have a lot of restraint, Seph. You aren't telling me where to put the pieces at all."

"With you, it's easy, because you're not doing it wrong."

"D'awww. You're such a sap sometimes."

"Maybe a little."

In the end, neither of them got any sleep, but Seph said it was the most restful night he'd had in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> The magazine questions came from a website titled '200 Questions to get to know someone' at Conversation Starters World.  
> https://conversationstartersworld.com/questions-to-get-to-know-someone/


End file.
